Death Under the Big Top

by 2AGlitterGirl

Continuation to my other three stories. Castle and Beckett are still together. Will they be able to solve a murder at the circus?

Kate had set her alarm clock before bed. If she wasn't assigned a case 8 am was her normal starting time, unless she was busy with a case, then it could be almost anytime. The alarm went off and she turned over looking at the clock which read 6:30. She turned off the alarm and closed her eyes for a couple of minutes again and turning back over. She made sure not to fall back to sleep again, she just wanted to wake up a little bit before getting out of bed.

She got ready and headed to the station. She pushed the elevator button to her floor and rode up. The doors opened and already she could see the activity going on around her. She hadn't seen Castle anywhere yet, but that was not unusual. He was always a little bit later than her. He didn't have to be on time. He didn't really 'work' there, so he came in when he wanted, but he was never later than a half hour behind her, unless of course she called him in earlier.

She walked to her desk and saw Ryan taking off his jacket. Esposito had his back turned away from her fiddling with his watch. "Beckett! Nice to have you back!" Ryan said. She smiled at him as she took her own coat off. Esposito turned around and they both walked up to her. "So how was it Beckett?" Esposito asked. "Great!" she said smiling. The two men looked at each other and smiled. "What?" Kate said. "Nothing! It's just nice to see you happy!" Esposito said. Kate wondered if this was supposed to mean anything. "Yeah you look relaxed, Beckett! Did you meet someone or something?" Ryan questioned her. Esposito was thinking this really wasn't like her to come in like this, all smiles and in a good mood. "No! I didn't meet someone Ryan! Do I have to have met someone to be in a good mood?" 'There was the Beckett they knew!' Esposito thought. "No, no, of course not!" Ryan said backing down.

"I did miss you guys though! What's been going on here?" Kate said waiting to hear all the details. "Nothin', no dead bodies!" Esposito said. "Not one?" Kate asked surprised. "Nope! There was a murder, but we weren't assigned. " Ryan said sticking his hands in his pockets. She remembered Lanie said she worked one, gunshot wound to the head. "Well I guess I picked a good time to take off then." "Yeah it's always nice when the murderers decide to coincide their killing with vacation time!" Ryan joked. Kate looked at him and smiled.

She needed coffee, badly. She had to get back into the routine now. Her life had changed a lot in the past week. "Esposito, I'm going to make some coffee, can you grab my phone if it rings?" "Sure thing!" he said. The elevator doors opened and out walked Castle. He saw Esposito and Ryan watching something on the computer and laughing. He walked up quietly behind them and then in a loud voice said, "Your Mother and I leave you alone for a little vacation and this is what we come home to?" They both turned around. "Hey, Castle! You're back man!" Ryan said happy Castle was back. He made it a fun place to work. "What's up bro!" Esposito grabbed Castle's hand as the two had a manly hug. "How have things been here?" Castle asked. "Dead!" they said in unison. "No cases, man!" Esposito said disappointed. "Yeah it's been all paper work!" Ryan chimed in. "Is that why it looks so picked up around here?" Castle said scanning the room. "Yup!" Esposito said matter of factly.

"Where's Beckett?" Castle asked. "She's in the break room making coffee!" Ryan said. The three of them were huddled around Kate's desk. Castle knew she was there somewhere. She was always on time. Beckett's phone rang. Esposito grabbed it and said "Detective Beckett's desk." Ryan and Castle chit chatted while he answered. "She just stepped away from her desk for a second. Can I have her call you back? Ok!" Esposito said while writing down a number.

Kate held two coffee cups in her hand and smiled at Castle as she walked toward all three of them. "Would you like some coffee Castle?" "Yes, thank you!" He said taking the cup. "How was your vacation Beckett?" he asked taking a sip of the coffee. 'Perfect' he thought. She had been paying attention to how he liked it. She didn't forget the bet. "It was nice." she said not too enthusiastically. "Nice? You said it was great!" Ryan corrected her. "Ok Ryan, yeah it was great...and nice! Are you happy now?" she said shooting him a look. Castle looked at Ryan sympathetically. "How was your time off Castle?" She thought she'd better ask or it would seem strange. "One of the best weeks of my life!" Castle said with exuberance. 'Oh here we go!' thought Kate. Castle cut in quickly though and said, "I wrote three chapters of my new book!" He hadn't mentioned that when they saw each other. The two detectives seemed satisfied with this answer and Kate breathed a sigh of relief. Rick hadn't mentioned to her he had been writing. "Oh Beckett, you got a call, here's the message!" Esposito said handing Kate the sticky note. "I wonder if it's a case?" Beckett said already punching the numbers on the phone.

Castle, Esposito and Ryan were all talking near Kate's desk when they heard her say, "I'm sorry, a what? A clown at the circus?" The three men looked at each other and started busting out laughing. Kate turned her back so she could hear better, but the men continued laughing. She whipped around and gave them a look that could kill. She mouthed the word "quiet!" to them. They couldn't stop laughing so they moved closer to Ryan's desk. "Ok, yes we'll be there right away!" Beckett said hanging up the phone.

They all walked back to Beckett's desk. "What was that all about?" Castle said still laughing. Kate ignored their previous grade school behavior. "Apparently a clown is dead at the Circus. They are in town right now." They all started to laugh again. "A clown? With the full make-up on and everything?" Castle said trying to stifle his laugh. "I don't know Castle! I didn't ask what his attire was!" she said annoyed. "Come on let's go! Ryan and Esposito I need you two to come too. There will lots of people to interview. " She said walking toward the elevator. The three walked behind her cracking up still.

Ryan and Esposito took their own car while Castle and Beckett rode together as usual. "I almost thought you were going to blow it back there Castle! Saying it was one of the best weeks of your life!" Kate said looking worried when they were in the car alone. "Well it was! I meant it! I didn't reveal anything about us. Stop worrying so much! So you told Ryan and Esposito your vacation was 'great' huh?" Castle said teasing her. She smiled and turned her head to look at him. "It was pretty great, Castle!" His heart soared! She was still letting him in! He was worried; but no, she wasn't going to be always in detective mode at work, at least when they were alone. He just smiled and they said nothing until they got to the scene.

They parked around the back where the performers entrance was. They saw the coroner's van parked there also. Ryan and Esposito pulled up just behind them. They all entered the huge tent. Kate saw Lanie examining the body. He was in full clown costume and Beckett looked at all three of them with a scolding look that said, 'don't even!'

"I see you brought the whole team, Beckett!" Lanie said looking up. "Yeah, lots of witness to question I'm sure!" Kate said looking around. "Well you may not need to question anyone." Lanie said still examining the body. "What? Why?" Beckett kneeled down. "I can't see any obvious signs of death. No stab wounds, no gunshots, no strangulation, nothing that shows what killed him." Lanie said looking puzzled. "Until I get him back to the office and can figure out what the cause was, you've got yourself a death investigation and not a murder investigation." "You mean maybe he died of natural causes?" Castle asked Lanie. "Could be. He could have stroked out or had a heart attack, brain aneurysm, any number of things." Lanie said standing up. "What are the odds of that? He looks like a young guy!" Ryan asked. "Well it's not unheard of but it is kind of rare." "Do you know his name yet?" Beckett asked Lanie. "Yes, Brian Parsons, age 25!"

"Yeah I think any number of things may have killed him! Inhaling too much spirit gum putting on his big red clown nose. " Castle joked. "His wig was too tight and it cut off oxygen to his brain!" Esposito chimed in. "He had too much clown make-up on and it didn't allow his skin to breathe! Ryan joined in the fun. " He left his shoelace untied and tripped himself in those giant shoes!" Castle said looking up as if in deep thought. Kate looked horrified. Lanie burst out laughing at Castle's last cause of death. "Lanie! You too?" Kate looked at her. "I'm sorry honey, but that was funny!"

They were all cracking up. While Kate stood there looking annoyed. She actually thought all their comments were funny but she would never admit that. 'Someone has to be the grown up around here' she thought! "What grade are you guys in? Seriously? This is a young guy, who is dead; who probably has a family!" Kate admonished them. Castle was about to say something else, but Kate looked at him and he stopped dead in his tracks. "Behave, all of you, here comes someone!" Kate said turning to walk toward a mid fifties looking man.

They were actually all standing in the main tent. There were benches and concession stands all around. They were down on the floor where the performers performed. It wasn't the biggest circus act there was but they were number three among the top three.

"Hi, I'm detective Kate Beckett! Kate said reaching her hand out to shake the handsome gentleman's hand. "Hello, I'm Kent Brand, director of talent." he said reaching for her hand. "These are my detectives, Kevin Ryan and Javier Esposito." she said motioning to them while they walked back to the group. "Lanie Parrish the Medical Examiner, and this is Richard Castle." Mr. Brand nodded to everyone, and smiled slightly.

"What exactly is the director of talent responsible for Mr. Brand?" Kate asked. "Oh, well I help pick the talent, when we need new performers, and oversee everything concerning the running of the program, meaning making sure the performers are all there when they need to be. That sort of thing." "Do you also handle any grievances the performers may have?" "Oh, yes, that too!" he added. "How well did you know Mr. Parsons?" Kate asked noticing he seemed a bit nervous. "Not much, but a little." he said looking in the direction of the body.

"Do you know if he had any medical conditions?" "None that I'm aware of. Of course those records are confidential, but we screen our talent thoroughly before they are hired. They have to pass a rigorous physical, so if there were any major medical issues, he would have never been brought on." "I see. I'm going to need to see the medical records, Mr. Brand." Kate said authoritatively. "Sure, we have a trailer just for Human Resources around the side." he said motioning with his hand. They had walked back away from the rest. It was always awkward for the friends or relatives to be questioned right where the body was. "Excuse me for a second, Mr. Brand." Kate walked up to Ryan and Esposito. "I need you guys to go to the Human Resources trailer and pull his records. It's to the left." The two detectives walked out of the tent while Castle followed Beckett.

"How long had Brian been working here?" Kate said rejoining Mr. Brand. "I believe about 15 months if I'm not mistaken." "Did you have a part in hiring him?" "Yes, he wasn't like our other performers." "What do you mean by that?" Kate said looking him directly in the eye. "Well his background was a bit different then most. He had a corporate job after college and seemed to want to leave that all behind him."

Lanie was zipping up the body bag and he was being placed on the gurney. Mr. Brand was looking over watching this happen. "I'm sorry, this is a bit upsetting as you can imagine." Mr. Brand looked genuinely distraught. "I know Mr. Brand, I'm sorry, I just have a few more questions!" Kate felt bad for him but showed no emotion. "Do you know who his next of kin is? Parents? Wife? Siblings?" "No, I'm sorry I don't!" he said sadly. "Do you know who he was close to here, friends?" Kate was trying to wrap this up knowing that he didn't know much. "He was seeing a trapeze artist, Jennifer Finn." "Is she available to talk to?" "Yes I will take you to her." He said turning to take them.

Mr. Brand was ahead of Castle and Beckett. "They are only in town for two more nights Beckett, so we'd better work fast!" Castle said warning her. "Oh, yeah, I hadn't thought of that she said pulling out her phone." "Who are you calling?" Castle asked. "Lanie. I'm going to ask her to do a rush tox screen." Kate called Lanie's cell, knowing she wasn't back to the morgue yet. Kate said waiting for Lanie to pick up. "Can you do that?" Castle asked. "Yes in an emergency situation we can push to the front of the line. This counts as an emergency. The crime scene, or suspected crime scene is in jeopardy. We can't ask them to delay their schedule, especially when we don't know what happened yet." Kate said.

"Lanie, hey I need you to request a emergency tox screen on Mr. Parsons!" Kate said a bit of a panic. "Yeah they are only going to be here two more nights, so our crime scene and everyone associated with it may vanish if we don't find the cause of death right away. She paused as Lanie said something. "Ok, great! Thank you Lanie!" Kate pushed end and they continued to follow Mr. Brand. "Has Mr. Parson's ever had a history of drug use?" Castle said while walking to catch up to Mr. Brand. "We do monthly drug testing, and as far as I know he's never tested positive for anything."

Mr. Brand knocked on the door of Jennifer Finn. Another young woman opened the door. They saw Jennifer sitting on a couch crying. "Sabrina this is the detective working on Brian's case. "Hi" said the young woman sadly. "If you don't mind waiting outside for a few moments, we need to talk to Jennifer alone." Kate said with sympathy. "Sure" she said and looked back at Jennifer and said, "I'll be right outside, Jen." "Ok." Jennifer said still crying. Mr. Brand also went outside.

"Hi, Jennifer I'm detective Kate Beckett and this is Richard Castle. I'm so sorry about Brian." she said looking at her tear stained face. "This must be very shocking for you!" Kate said with sympathy in her tone. "Yeah, very!" "When was the last time you saw Brian?" Castle said trying to be as gentle as possible. "Last night. We had dinner together. Then we had to do the show, so I didn't see him after that. I assumed he went to bed as usual." Jennifer had stopped crying and now seemed like she was numb. "What happened to him?" Jennifer asked looking directly at Kate. "We don't know yet. We'll have to determine cause of death before we can put all the pieces of the puzzle together. Can you come down to the station with us?" "I guess so." Jennifer was in shock. She was barely aware of what was happening.

Kate could read people pretty well and she didn't think Jennifer had anything to do with his death, if it was a homicide. On the way back to the station Castle talked to Jennifer and was asking about circus life. He was purposely trying to distract her from the horrible reality of the situation. He asked her questions calmly and even got her to laugh once. Kate loved this side of him. The caring, sweet generous side. They got back to the 12th and Castle had taken off his coat and put it around Jennifer. They led her to a room to be questioned. Not the interrogation room, there was no need for that yet, but a private room where they could talk. "Can I get you anything? Water, coffee, tea?" Castle asked Jennifer. "Could I please have some water?" she said noticing her mouth was dry all of the sudden. "Sure! I'll be right back." Castle said with a smile. Castle got up and went out of the room and closed the door behind him.

Kate and Jennifer sat down and Kate pulled out her notepad. "How long have you and Brian been together?" "About a year, not long after he started working." Kate noticed how pretty this young woman was. She had shoulder length brown hair with blond highlights. She looked young and guessed she was around 23 or 24. Castle returned with the water and handed it to her. "Thank you." she said gratefully.

She took a sip and Kate asked, "Do you know if Brian had any medical conditions?" "No, not that I know of. He was always very healthy." Jennifer said looking at the floor. "Any kind of drug use?" "No, Brian wasn't into drugs. He didn't like them. He barely drank either. Besides we get drug tested all the time!" "Did he have any enemies or not get along with anyone?" Castle asked. "No! Everyone loved him!" "Has anything different or unusual happened in his life recently?" Kate asked. Jennifer paused a moment. "Yes, his Father died two months ago. His family is very wealthy. I didn't know this until recently." Immediate red flags went up in Castle and Beckett's minds. "He was planning on quitting the company soon and going back to work for his Father's company. You see he was going to inherit a lot of money, but he wouldn't unless he took over the running of the company." She was trying to remember as much as she could to tell them. She was still so much in shock.

"Did he have other family?" Kate said as she was writing. "Yeah, he has a sister. She lives here in New York. This is where he was originally from." Jennifer said pulling the coat around her tighter. "Do you know her name?" Castle asked leaning forward. "Kathy, I don't know her last name. She is married and has two kids. He wasn't close to his family. He was sort of the black sheep of the family. Actually maybe he was the white sheep in a black sheep family." "Why was that?" Kate wondered. "Well Brian was a free spirit, sort of a hippie, a happy-go-lucky type. He wanted to help people, make them laugh, which is why he chose the Circus, he said."

"What about his Mother?" Castle asked. Beckett noticed Ryan and Esposito had returned. "She died years ago." Jennifer looked exhausted, so Beckett decided to end the interview. She planned on talking to her again, if they couldn't get the information they needed soon. "Well that's all the questions I have for now, Miss Finn. Here's my card and if you can think of anything else please don't hesitate to call. I'll probably need to interview you again at some point." Kate said, then added "again we are so sorry for your loss!"

Beckett went out into the bull pen and asked Ryan and Esposito to take Jennifer back to her place. Esposito handed the file over to Beckett. Castle and Beckett began to pour over the file. She saw his medical records and immediately faxed them over to Lanie. She wasn't a Doctor and couldn't understand all the information contained but it looked as if he was in good health. Under emergency contacts he listed his Father, who of course was now deceased, then a Kathy Litton. She had a local address. "Come on Castle we need to make notification." Beckett said as she was standing up.

They went to the elevator and got in. The doors closed. "Do you think he was killed for the money?" Castle asked. "It's hard to tell at this point. Until we know what killed him we can't rule anything out!" Kate said, frustrated that it was going to be some time before they could do much. "I don't see this being a natural death. 25? Come on!" Castle said equally as frustrated. "I don't either Castle!" They stepped out of the elevator and into the parking garage.

Castle and Beckett arrived at Kathy Litton's residence. It was a huge property. "Wow this is quite a place!" Castle said as they walked up the steps to the front door. Kate rang the doorbell and a maid answered. "Yes?" the maid said. "Hello, we are looking for Kathy Litton, does she live here?" Beckett said while holding up her badge. "Yes, but she's not home right now." The maid said suspiciously. "Do you know where we can find her? I'm detective Kate Beckett and this is Richard Castle. It's important that we get in touch with her." "She's at work until 7 or so!" "Do you have the address?" Kate asked. "Yes, hold on a minute." The maid said closing the door as she went back inside. Castle and Beckett waited for a couple of minutes for the maid to come back. "Here is the address." She said handing Kate a piece of paper. "Thank you!" They walked to the car and got in.

"I don't know about you Castle, but I'm starving!" Kate said looking over at him. "Me too!" "I hate to delay making notifications, but I have a feeling we will be there awhile and we need to eat!" Kate said almost in a guilty tone. "Yeah, we can hurry!" They stopped off at a little taco stand to eat. They both ordered taco's and iced tea. "You didn't tell me you were writing again Castle!" Kate said after taking a sip of her iced tea. "Yeah, I got inspired by you!" Castle smiled. "Nothing racy or anything, just by being with you." "Ahh I'm glad I could help!" She smiled at him. "So what's the story about?" she asked letting the fan girl come out. "No, I'm sorry Miss Beckett but I never reveal the story until it's finished, even to you!" He reached up and touched her face as an apology. "Well I'll be anxious to read it!" He smiled at her. "I'm flattered you like my books so much!"

"We better get going, we still have a lot to do." Kate said. Her phone rang just then. "Beckett!" she said back in detective mode. "Hey Lanie, what do you got?" Kate said looking down. There was silence for a couple of minutes. "Ok" another pause, "alright if that's the best we can do. Thanks. Bye!" Kate didn't look happy. "Lanie said he was as healthy as a horse, no signs of disease or anything wrong. We have to wait for the tox screen until tomorrow." "Even with the rush?" Castle said surprised. "Yup!" Kate said and they headed back to the car. "If it wasn't disease or some condition, then he had to be murdered, right? Castle asked as Kate drove. "Not necessarily. Could be an overdose of some kind. Damn! We need those tox results!" Kate said irritated.

They arrived at Kathy Litton's office. Office was an understatement. Mertron Pharmaceuticals had their own building. It was one of the biggest manufactures of drugs in the country. They manufactured and supplied drugs to every major country in the world. "Oh my god!" Castle exclaimed. "This is what Brian Parsons was inheriting?" He said looking up at the building. "There was nothing in the file about this!" Kate said in awe. They went to the lobby and asked for Kathy Litton. They were told to go to the 11th floor.

They stepped off the elevator and went through two glass double doors. Seated was a receptionist at a big desk. "Hi, we need to speak to Kathy Litton." Kate told the smartly dressed receptionist. "Can I tell her who is calling?" she said smiling. "Kate Beckett and Richard Castle." Kate did not want to add the Detective part. This was a death notification not a suspect interrogation and she thought she would give Mrs. Litton some privacy for at least a few minutes. The receptionist rang Kathy Litton's office and announced them. "She said she would be right out!" The receptionist said, wondering who they were. They certainly didn't look like they were here on business.

Kate and Rick stepped to the side and waited. Kathy Litton came out a side door. She was around 30. Impeccably dressed. She was in a gray business suit with very expensive gray pumps. Her hair was curled and was about shoulder length, blond. She wore a giant diamond ring on her left hand. 'Wow! She is stunning' Castle thought.

"Yes, what can I do for you?" Kathy said as she approached them. "Hi I'm Kate Beckett and this is Richard Castle. Is there somewhere we can talk in private?" "Well, yes, but what is this all about?" she seemed confused. "I'll explain everything in a moment, but I'd like to do it in private." Kate said with a look urging her to comply. "Yes of course! Follow me." They followed her to a empty conference room. It was a large room with a huge table and ten chairs around it. "Please sit down. Now what is this about?" "Your Brother's name is Brian Parsons correct?" "Yes! What about my brother?" She looked upset. "Mrs. Litton I'm a detective with the New York Police Department and I'm sorry to tell you that your Brother has passed away." Kate pulled out her badge showing her. "What! Oh my God! What happened?" "He was found at his place of employment deceased." Kate said trying to say that as diplomatically as she could."He was found dead at the Circus? What happened? Oh, my God!" "I'm sorry I don't have a lot of answers to give you at the moment. An autopsy is being performed right now." Kate did not let on that she knew it wasn't from natural causes. "We should have results by the end of the day tomorrow." Kate said trying to be as sympathetic as she could.

"First my Father and now this! Oh my God, I can't believe this is happening!" Kathy put her hands up to her forehead and bowed her head. "I'm so sorry for your losses, Mrs. Litton." Kate said. "You said you are a detective though right? Was he murdered?" It was a bit of a strange question so early on. Kate immediately took notice as did Castle. Most people were in such shock they didn't think beyond just the person being dead. It usually took awhile to get to the cause part. "We honestly don't know yet, Mrs. Litton. It is a possibility." Kate said now trying to read her face for more clues as to how she was really feeling.

"We've heard that Brian was inheriting a large sum of money if he took over the running of the company?" Castle questioned her. "Yes that is true. He was coming back within the month to take over." "Excuse me for asking, but why aren't you taking over? I mean Brian didn't seem to want to be a corporate raider from what we've heard." Castle said leaning forward. Kate was reading and observing her. "No, Brian wasn't the corporate type by any stretch of the imagination! He was going to inherit a lot of money though, so I guess he figured he would come back to in order to inherit it."

"Was this the only way he was going to inherit the money, if he came back to run Mertron?" Kate asked. "Yes, Detective it was." Kathy had some tears in her eyes at this point. "How did you two get along?" Castle then asked. "We were night and day personality wise, we weren't very close, but we got along ok." she said not adding anything else. "Were you going to inherit also, if you don't mind my asking?" Kate wanted to steer the conversation to the possible motive, if there was a motive. "Yes, not as much, but yes.

My Father was older when he had us. He was of a different generation. He believed the son should run the company, even if his daughter was older. Brian did work here for awhile but he wasn't cut out for it. My Father never took that seriously though. He thought it was a phase he was going through. 'He is just young' he said. 'He'll change his mind' or so he thought. I knew Brian wouldn't change his mind. When he joined the Circus my Father was furious, but he eventually got over it, just believing it was his youth, so unbeknownst to me he put that clause in his will saying Brian would only inherit if he came back to work".

Beckett was taking this all in, not so much about what she was saying, but her demeanor. She didn't seem that upset, but then again, they weren't that close, so that could be an explanation. "I see. How did Brian feel about coming back?" Beckett asked leaning forward in her chair. "He wasn't thrilled as you can imagine, but he sort of resigned himself to it, I think." Mrs. Litton said shifting in her chair. "Did Brian have any enemies that you know of?" "None that I know of, but I rarely saw him, Detective." Mrs. Litton's tears had vanished.

"Well that's all the questions we have for now, Mrs. Litton." "Here is my card." Kate pulled out her business card and handed it to her. "If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to call." "Ok, thank you! Let me give you my business card also. All my numbers are on it, except my home phone which I will write down for you." Mrs. Litton got up and opened the door and the three of them walked out to the lobby.

"I'll be right back with the information." Kathy said walking to her office. She returned with the card and Beckett told her she would be in touch as soon as she had any more information. "Do you know when we can have," she paused, "the body?" "As soon as the Medical Examiner releases it, but I wouldn't think more than a day or two." Kate explained. "Thank you" Kathy said a little sadly.

Castle and Beckett were in the elevator riding back down. "I don't get a good feeling about her!" Castle said. "I don't either. I'm trying to think of a motive. Money?" Kate said looking at him. "Could be, but she seems to be pretty well off already." Castle said. "True, but she did say he would inherit more than her." Kate pondered. "For some people it's never enough." Kate said still thinking. "Did you notice she asked if he was murdered?" Castle asked. "Yes! I definitely noticed that! Why is she thinking that already? As far as she knows, he died of natural causes. I didn't mention anything about what Lanie told me." "Yeah, I noticed that too!" Castle said.

They arrived back at the station and Ryan and Esposito were sitting at their desks. She filled them in on what Lanie's autopsy concluded and told them they needed to wait for the tox screen. "Did you get Jennifer back ok?" Kate asked them. "Yeah, poor girl is heartbroken! She was crying all the way back. Did she tell you they were talking marriage?" Ryan asked looking at Beckett. "No, she didn't mention that. Esposito, I want you to look up everything you can on Clifford Parsons and Mertron Corporation. Our victim or should I say our alleged victim was about to inherit the company. Clifford was the CEO until he died two and a half months ago." "Are you serious? Talk about being born with a silver spoon!" Esposito had turned around and was already punching in information into his computer.

By this time it was around 3:45. "Castle want some coffee?" No one was watching so she gave him a knowing smile. "I would love some!" Castle said leading the way to the break room. Kate was making the coffee. It was all Rick could do not to go over and put his arms around her and kiss her. He said in a low voice standing near her, "do you know how bad I want to touch you right now?" She smiled and kept making the coffee. "It hasn't been easy for me either Rick!" Rick! He loved it when she called him that, except when she was angry with him of course. Castle stepped back and sat down at one of the chairs.

"I don't know how much more we can do today. Without cause of death there is only so much to go on. I can't go poking into anyone's private life unless this is a homicide." Kate said resting her elbow on the table with her head in her hand. She had sat down at the table too, waiting for the coffee to brew. Castle didn't say anything, he just stared at her. She was looking back at him. Castle broke the silence. "I have something for you. I parked near you so when we leave I want to give it to you!" Castle said in a somewhat serious voice. "Castle you don't have to buy me things all the time you know! I don't expect that!" Kate said looking him directly in the eye. "I know you don't! I didn't exactly buy it! I know you will want to have it though." This had Kate wondering what it was now. "Ok!"

She got up and got two cups out. Castle got up and took one cup from her quickly, their fingers touching slightly. They both felt the spark and looked at each other rapidly, then looked away just as quickly. "Although you made my coffee perfectly this morning, I don't expect you to wait on me hand and foot! Making me coffee was the bet, not fixing it for me too! Castle said smiling. She was happy that he complimented her coffee preparing skills, if made her feel good!

Kate walked out back to the bullpen. Castle followed. "Yo Beckett, I pulled up the info you wanted!" "What did you find out?" Kate said taking a sip of her coffee. "Clifford Parsons, age 75 passed away two and a half months ago, of a heart attack, was CEO for Mertron Pharm. for 20 years after taking over for retiring previous CEO, Victor Johnson. Was widowed, for 15 years, never remarried. Has two children Brian Parsons aged 25 and Kathy Litton aged 30 who is Vice President at Mertron Pharm. Has two grandchildren Rebecca Litton aged 5 and Hannah Litton aged 3. Son in law Jeffrey Litton aged 33, Attorney at Law and a partner for Brown, Dutton and Finch.

"Mertron Pharm., established in 1974, maker of prescription drugs. Estimated worth of 300 million dollars. Factories in China, India and South America. Corporate Headquarters in New York, New York. Brian Parsons is rumored to be inheriting 25 million, Kathy Litton is rumored to be inheriting 10 million." Esposito closed the file and handed it to Beckett. "Good job! Thank you Esposito!" "Any time Beckett!" Esposito said heading back to his desk.

"So Kathy inherits 15 million less than Brian and will essentially be answering to her little Brother who decides to run off and join the circus! That might make me jealous enough to kill him!" Castle said looking at Beckett. Kate thought about this for a minute. "I wonder if Clifford said how long Brian had to continue working at Mertron? Maybe there was no time limit. Couldn't he have just worked there long enough to collect the 25 million then turned the company over to his sister? In that case she really wouldn't have motive, other than the extra 15 million."

Kate went to the white board and began writing it all down. Even though it wasn't officially a murder yet it was looking more and more like one and she wanted to map it out while it was fresh in her mind. Castle was sipping his coffee watching her. She finished up in a few minutes.

They went back to Kate's desk and talked more about the case. "Brian was found in full costume in the big tent. What was he doing there? He must not of gotten undressed yet after his performance. Why was he found there though, why not his living quarters?" Castle speculated. "That's a good question! Maybe he went back to get something, maybe forgot something?" Kate pondered. "It's possible!" Castle agreed. They talked awhile more. "Well there's nothing left to do here today, Castle. We might as well call it a night." Kate said rising from her desk. "Ok. Don't forget the thing I have for you!" He said quietly. "I haven't. Ready?" Kate said.

"Be ready to work your ass off tomorrow guys!" Kate said talking to Ryan and Esposito. "Yeah, yeah, when don't we?" Ryan said smiling. She just looked at the two of them and smiled. "Goodnight!" She said. "Bye Castle!" Ryan said as they were walking toward the elevator. They went in and the door closed. "No one's here to see, can I kiss you?" Castle said eagerly. "Cameras, Castle, remember?" Kate said motioning toward the corner of the elevator. "Damn!" He had taken a step toward her then moved away again.

The elevator came to a stop in the parking garage. They both walked out and took a few paces to their cars. Castle was parked two cars down from Beckett. "Go open your trunk! Castle instructed. "What? Why?" Beckett looked confused. "Because it's too big to put inside the car!" Castle said. "Castle what did you do?" Beckett looked slightly embarrassed. "Just go do it!" He said. He was very excited for her to see it. He knew she'd love it. "Ok, ok!" Kate said unlocking her car and popping the trunk.

Castle took out a large rectangular object. It was wrapped. "What is that?" Kate asked waiting by the trunk. "Why would I wrap it, if I wanted you to know what it was?" Castle reasoned with her. Castle fit it in the trunk nicely. She closed the trunk and said "Thank you Castle. I'm sure whatever it is I'll like it." "Oh I know you'll like it!" Castle said confidently. "Pretty sure of yourself aren't you?" Kate said raising her eyebrows and cocking a sideways smile. "When it comes to this, yes!" "Oh here!" he said taking an envelope out of his pocket and handing it to her. "Don't open either of them until you get home! I mean it!" Castle said seriously. "Ok Castle." her interest peaked.

He grabbed her hand quickly and led her to a dark corner, where her car was parked, next to a wall. "Castle what are..." She barely got the words out when he grabbed her around the waist and pulled her into a kiss. She responded back eagerly kissing him. His lips were cool and soft. His tongue grazed hers and he kissed her bottom lip passionately. Her wanting to kiss him was stronger than her fear of getting found out. He released her and she was a little stunned, like when a bird hits a window. She let out a breath but didn't say anything. "Remember, no opening it until you get home!" Castle said walking to his car. She just stood there and said nothing watching him and thinking of the kiss.

Castle drove away, in happy anticipation of when she saw it. He hoped she would call him when she did. He wasn't sure though. 'She may not' he thought. This was something he wasn't sure of with her as his girlfriend.

Castle unlocked the door and entered his home. Alexis was sitting at the bar in the kitchen. "Hey, Dad how was your first day back?" She said smiling. She was always smiling, his happy girl. "A three ring circus; literally! Castle joked. "Huh?" Alexis had a puzzled look on her face. "A clown died at the circus!" Castle said giving her a hug. Alexis started laughing, and said, "sorry, sorry, I know I shouldn't be laughing at that! "Laughing at what darling?" Martha said gliding into the kitchen. "Mother, I give you; a chip off the old block!" Castle said proudly motioning his arm out to Alexis. Martha looked confused. "I was just telling Alexis we were investigating a clown death at the circus today." Castle said explaining. "How was he murdered? Well I'm assuming it was a he!" Martha explained. "It was, and we don't know if he was murdered yet!" Castle explained the whole story to them both.

Kate was wondering the whole way home what was in her trunk. Knowing Castle, he had probably had commissioned her portrait to be painted by some famous artist over the past week! 'He was kind of over the top sometimes' she thought. She eyed the envelope sitting on the passenger seat. It just said 'Kate' on it.

She got home, took the envelope and her rectangular package out of the trunk and headed to her mailbox. She collected the mail, and went up the elevator. She unlocked her apartment door and put down everything as soon as she could. There was a lot in her hands and it was hard to hold everything.

She propped up package next to her table, went to the fridge and got out a wine bottle and reached in for a wine glass in the cupboard. She took the cork out and poured herself a glass of wine and took a sip. Kate went to the table and put the glass down and picked up the envelope with her name on it. She opened it up. It was a card with the famous 'Irises' painting by Van Gogh printed on the outside. She opened the card and the picture of her and her Mom fell out into her lap. She briefly looked at it and set it on the table.

Opening the card she read, 'I hope whenever you look at this you remember the good times and not the bad. Never forget how deeply loved you were, and are! Love, Rick' She picked up the picture and ripped the wrapping paper off. Inside was a beautiful frame containing the picture of her and her Mother blown up. A three year old Kate had a big smile and her mouth was open telling her Mother something. She had a white shirt on with a lace collar and her hair was in a pony tail. Her Mother had her head tilted slightly and was paying close attention to her daughter and also had a smile on her face. 'I wish I could remember when this was taken'. Her Father must have been the photographer Kate thought.

The picture was beautifully matted with glass covering it. She just stared at it for several minutes while sipping her wine. She was going to cry, but stopped herself. Kate went to the kitchen where she had a hammer and some picture hangers in a bottom cupboard. She took them out and hammered two picture hangers a few inches apart into the wall in between the kitchen and living room. 'Perfect' she thought. 'I will look at this everyday now!' The frame matched perfectly with her décor. 'He thought of everything!' She went back to the table, turned her chair around, drank her wine and looked at her picture.

'Deeply loved' she thought as she was making dinner. She thought about the years with Rick. How they grew together, first as friends now as more. She knew she was opening up to him, sharing her feelings. Her boyfriends all complained about this, that they never knew how she felt. Kate felt completely safe with him though. He had proven himself time and time again to her. Most guys wouldn't do what he had done for her. They would have given up a long time ago and moved on, but not him, he was special. Perfect no, but special! She remembered him saying 'always' to her. That was no mere lip service, it was 'always'for him. She would be lost without him professionally but mostly personally. She had a taste of that when he went to the Hamptons with Gina. She still didn't know what happened with that, but she knew she would in time.

She ate and had another glass of wine before calling Rick. She knew in that moment how much she deeply loved him! This was different from any relationship before him. To her it felt almost otherworldly and it scared her a little. She dealt in facts and logic, this was neither. She got her phone, sat on the couch with her legs curled up and called him.

"Ola! Senor Castle here!" Knowing it was Kate. Hearing his voice got her emotional all of the sudden. "Rick...It's..." she tried holding back the tears but could not. She couldn't speak, the words caught in her throat. "Kate? Is that you? Sweetheart?" "Yeah it's me!" she said in a shaky voice, trying to pull it together. "What's wrong Honey? Are you ok?" "Yeah I'm fine!" she said feeling a little more steady now wiping her tears away. "I opened the picture, thank you! You were right, I do want it! Rick, I just wanted to tell you, it's the most touching, personal, greatest present I've ever received!" She said tearing up again. "I'm glad you like it Sweetheart! I hoped you would! Don't cry, please!" He said in a comforting voice. He wished he could hug her right now. She laughed "I'm trying not to! I have it hanging up already!" She said grabbing for a napkin on the coffee table.

"Good, I can't wait to see it!" Castle said smiling. "Do you like the frame, because if not I can change it!" "No, no it's perfect!" she said wiping her eyes. "When did you get that picture out of my photo album?" she questioned. "Saturday when I came for dinner. You're not mad that I stole it are you?" "Of course not!" she said and paused for a couple of seconds. "I love you Rick!" she said this so sincerely and emotionally he was surprised for a second. He was silent, overcome with emotion. She wanted to invite him over but knew she shouldn't because of where it would lead. In reality they had only been dating a week, and although they knew each other pretty well, there was still a lot to find out about each other and it was too soon.

"Would you meet me for coffee in the morning before work?" she asked. "Sure! I can't wait to see you again!" Castle said recovering. "Ok, 7:30 at the usual place then! Thank you again and I'm sorry I got so emotional!" Kate said softly. "I like you showing emotions Kate! I get to know you on a deeper level. Don't ever apologize for that! I love you Sweetheart! See you tomorrow! Get some sleep!" "Ok, bye!" Kate said and hung up. She felt a little raw right then, 'I've got to quit crying!' she thought, but then remembered something her therapist told her. He said 'when you feel, you heal!' She hadn't given that much thought until tonight. At the time it seemed a little corny and some catch phrase or something. Now she got it. She was feeling a whole lot these past few days. It was if the dam had burst emotionally, and once it bursts it can't go back. 'Was she healing?' She hoped so.

Castle waited for her outside the little coffee bar they occasionally went to. It was close to the station only a block away. She walked up looking at her phone. She looked up and saw him. He smiled. She smiled and hugged him tight for a couple of minutes. She was taking a chance with this public affection, but she almost didn't care. "I love my picture! I was looking at it before I left! That was extremely sweet of you to do that for me! It looks great in my place too, matches perfectly!" She said smiling. "I'm so glad you like it!" Castle said releasing her and holding her in a loose hug. Rick couldn't believe they were actually together! It still felt like a dream he was going to wake up from.

"Ready for some coffee?' Kate said taking his hand and interlacing her fingers in his. "Yes, need it desperately!" Castle said as they walked in the shop. They ordered and Kate paid, per their bet. They had a few minutes to drink and chat before walking over to the 12th. "I have a feeling this is going to be a long day Castle!" Kate said. "I somehow get that feeling too!" He said sighing. It was close to 8 am. "You wait here for ten minutes then come up, ok?" Kate said to Castle. "Ok, Detective!" She got up and put her hand on the top of his shoulder on the way past him.

Kate set down her purse and took off her jacket. She saw Montgomery in his office on the phone. Ryan had told her he was in meetings all day yesterday. He was hanging up the phone so she went into his office. "Good Morning Sir!" She said peeking her head in the door. "Beckett! Nice to have you back!" Montgomery was genuinely happy to see her. "Thank you! It's nice to be back!" "So did Castle call you three hundred times a day while you were gone?" She laughed and said, "No he was on his best behavior!" "Well that's surprising! I hear you may have a case?" Montgomery said motioning for her to sit. "Yes, waiting on Lanie though for tox results. She explained every detail to him. "Ok well as soon as you know, get on it!" The Captain said dismissing her.

Kate sat down at her desk when Castle came in. He came and sat down at her desk. "Hi!" he said holding eye contact with her a little longer than he would have, had they not been in a relationship now. She smiled but said nothing.

"Where are Ryan and Esposito?" "I don't know I haven't seen them yet, I just got done talking to Montgomery." Castle stood back up and looked in the direction of Montgomery's office. Roy looked Castles way and waved. Castle waved back and smiled and sat back down. "Any word from Lanie?" Castle asked. "No, not yet. She knows how anxious I am to get the results though so I'm sure she will call the minute she has them." "Yeah, she is always on top of things, very professional!" Castle said seriously. "Yeah and she's a smart ass too!" Beckett added smiling, then said quickly, "seriously though, she is one of the best in the business, and smart as a whip! I don't know if I could have gotten through all that training!" "Don't sell yourself short Detective!" Castle said.

Ryan and Esposito walked out of the elevator together. "Nice of you to join us Detectives!" Kate said in a stern voice. "Aren't you a little late?" Castle ribbed them. "Ok, ok, we are here now! Any word from Lanie?" Esposito said trying to change the subject. "No, not yet, probably still too early." Kate said looking at the information Esposito pulled up yesterday. "I wonder how long we are going to have to wait?" Ryan asked not questioning anyone in particular. Ryan and Esposito walked to the break room no doubt to get some coffee. Castle and Beckett went over all the information they had so far at the white board. After Ryan and Esposito came back they all went over everything together. They hashed out motives and suspects. Money of course was the primary motive and Kathy Litton being the obvious first suspect.

It was 9:45 and Beckett's phone rang. She ran over to it as quick as she could get there. "Beckett!" she said. Lanie had just gotten the results back and said, "Your boy was murdered alright! The tox results show poison!" "Poison?" Beckett said surprised. In all her years as a Detective Kate had never had a poisoning as a cause of death. Castle, Ryan and Esposito all looked over then walked to her desk. "Yup, high grade professional poison! It gets a little complicated though. Come over here and I'll explain it all." "We'll be right over!" Kate said putting down the phone. "He was poisoned?" Castle said surprised. "Yes! Ryan and Esposito I want you to do a thorough background check on Jennifer Finn, Kathy Litton and Jeffery Litton and anyone else you can think of." Kate said standing and putting on her coat. "Ok we're on it!" Ryan said walking back to his computer. "Come on Castle, we need to go see Lanie."

They walked into Lanie's office to see her sitting at her desk. "Hey guys!" Lanie said looking up. "Hey Lanie! So explain this to us, he was poisoned?" Beckett said while taking a seat. There was only one chair so Castle stood. "Yeah he was poisoned alright! No other drugs found in his system, except a couple of aspirins, which actually makes sense. "What do you mean?" Castle asked taking a step forward toward her desk. "Well the kind of poison he ingested would have caused him to have a headache about an hour after eating or drinking it." "So it wasn't injected, he had to eat or drink it?" Kate asked frowning. "Yes, probably in his dinner. I put the time of death at midnight to two am, which also makes sense." "How so?" Castle said sitting on the corner of the table. "Well, it takes awhile for this particular poison to go through the system and cause death."

Lanie said showed them the tox screen results. Castle and Beckett both looked at the results but it was like trying to read Greek. Neither one of them could make heads or tails of the results. "Sorry Lanie but this is just gibberish to me." Kate said letting go of the file. "Well you see this number here?" Lanie said pointing. "This shows the percentage of drug to liter of blood. It's 30% which doesn't sound like a high number but believe me it is! That shows that it couldn't have been an accident. Like he didn't accidentally ingest it in some way. It was definitely on purpose!" Kate just sat and thought about this for a second.

"Now here's the interesting part!" Lanie said. "It gets more interesting than this?" Castle raised his eyebrows while saying this. "Oh yeah! This poison is not a poison to horses, for which it is intended, unless of course you give them too much, but it's used to treat illness. It's not for human consumption in any form! A little would make a person violently ill, and 30% is beyond overkill!" Kate and Castle just looked at each other.

"Here's the kicker!" Lanie said. They just looked at her not believing there could possibly be more. "This drug is very similar to another untraceable drug used for horses. The names are extremely similar. See?" Lanie pointed to a handwritten post it note with the untraceable drug written down. It was a long name with about 12 letters.

Castle and Beckett compared the cause of death drug to the untraceable one. "Oh my God!" Castle exclaimed. "Do you think the person that killed Brian intended to use the untraceable one and mixed up the traceable one?" He said looking at Lanie. "That's my theory, but I don't know for sure. It would make sense though." "Yeah!" Kate chimed in. "Lanie, wouldn't he have tasted it in his food or drink? Kate asked. "No, not necessarily! It might have a slight bitter taste, but only slight!" She said. "Thank you for everything Lanie. I know that wasn't easy getting getting those results that quickly. Can you fax over the results to my office?" Kate said standing. "I'll do it right now!" Lanie said also standing up.

Lanie walked them out and said to Kate, "I like those pants on you girl! They are really cute! It's nice to have something new to wear isn't it?" "Yeah, thanks Lanie!" Kate smiled. Kate and Rick walked down the hall. "What was that about? New pants?" Castle looked down at Kate's pants. "Yeah, we went shopping on Sunday together and I bought these!" Kate said. "Well I like them too! They make your butt look cute!" Castle smiled. Kate gave him a sideways glance and smirk as if to say 'watch it!' Inside she actually was happy he said it though. A woman always wants to be complimented on her body.

"So are we both thinking the same thing?" Castle asked Beckett. "You mean that Jennifer Finn probably had the opportunity to put poison in Brian's food, but that Kathy Litton probably had the motive?" Kate said turning to look at Castle. "Exactly!" Castle said. Kate pulled out her phone and called Ryan's desk. "Ryan" he answered. "Ryan, find out if Mertron Pharmaceuticals also makes drugs for animals too, specifically, horses!" Beckett said almost to the car. She explained what had gone on in Lanie's office and told him to fill Esposito in also. "Anything on the background checks?" Kate wanted to know. "No, just the standard stuff that you would expect. Nothing criminal." Ryan explained. "Hmm, ok!" Was all Beckett said. "Ok Beckett, I'll call you as soon as I get something on the drugs!" Ryan said before hanging up.

"I think we need to pay another visit to Jennifer Finn!" Kate said to Rick as they were pulling out of the parking space. They headed back to the Circus. This was day two of a three day run in New York City. They were running out of time. They pulled around back again after showing the security guard Beckett's badge. This time they went to the main office trailer. Inside was a young man sitting at a desk.

"Hello, I'm Detective Kate Beckett. We need to speak with Jennifer Finn please." The young man looked at them and told them she was probably in her trailer. He explained that she was taking the next couple of days off because of Brian's death. He stood up and was going to take them to her trailer. "Thank you, we know the way." Kate said.

They reached Jennifer's trailer and knocked on the door. Jennifer answered and didn't look good. She looked exhausted and red eyed from crying. "Hi, Jennifer we need to ask you some more questions." Kate said noticing her appearance. "Ok" she said sadly and led them inside. "You will need to come down to the station again." Kate said. "Ok, let me get dressed." Castle noticed she had sweats and a t-shirt on. Jennifer went into her bedroom and shut the door. Castle whispered, "I don't see her as doing this!" "I don't either, but appearances can be deceiving and she had opportunity." Kate whispered back.

Jennifer was ready and Beckett asked Castle to escort her to the car. She wanted to call Ryan and Esposito. She called Ryan's desk. "Ryan" he answered. "Ryan any info on Mertron yet?" Kate asked. "Yeah, I was just about to call you. They do make drugs for animals and horses!" "Ok, you and Esposito go pick up Kathy Litton!" She instructed. "Castle and I are on our way back with Jennifer Finn." "Ok." Ryan said and hung up the phone.

Jennifer was sitting in the back seat, staring out the window. She turned to look at Beckett in the rear view mirror. "Do you know what happened to Brian yet?" "We'll explain everything when we get to the station." Beckett felt bad for her, but she knew not to let emotions get in the way. She could spot an act or lie a mile away and some suspects were much better than others at it. She could not rule this young woman out yet. Kate looked at her and could see tears streaming down her face still looking out the window.

Castle, Beckett and Jennifer were all in the interrogation room. Ryan and Esposito were still out picking up Kathy Litton. Jennifer was sitting in her chair very still. "I'm sorry to tell you this Ms. Finn but Brian's case has now been ruled a homicide." Kate said watching her very closely. Jennifer looked shocked and her mouth hung open. "A, a homicide? What? How? Why?" she said rapidly. Castle was watching her too and unless she was a great actress, he believed her reaction was real.

"He was killed by a drug used to treat an illness in horses. In humans it can be fatal if given enough. He had way more than enough in his system to kill him." "Why! Who would have done this? He was such a great guy, who would have wanted him dead?" Kate could see that Jennifer was now coming out of the shock a little bit and becoming angry. This confirmed what she believed all along, that she had nothing to do with it.

"That's what we are trying to find out. I need to know everything Brian did the last day he was alive." Kate said trying to get Jennifer to focus. She knew she needed to get as much information from her as possible.

"We have rehearsals in the morning from 10 to 12. Brian was in a different area than me so I didn't see him until lunch. We have a whole catering staff that feeds us breakfast, lunch and dinner." She said now determined to remember everything. She wanted whomever did this to pay! "You didn't see him for breakfast?" Castle cut in. "No, most of us just usually have stuff in our trailers and eat there, so I didn't see him until lunch. We sat and ate together and talked about him leaving the circus. I had no idea until his Father died that his family was wealthy. He always said he just tried other things before joining the circus. He didn't talk about his family much other than to tell me he had a Sister and his Father was in business. He did talk about his Mother a lot though. I got the feeling they were very close and he said when she died a part of him died too! Jennifer as her eyes filled with tears.

"Did he talk about running the company and the money he was inheriting?" Castle asked. "Yes, he said he was going to take over the company for a few years and make changes, and then sign it over to his Sister to run. He told me he was inheriting much more money than her." "What were these changes he talked about?" Beckett asked. "I don't know really he just said changes." Jennifer shrugged a little bit.

"We had been talking about marriage before his Father died and once the will was read Brian realized he would have to leave me. He said he wanted to find a place to live and get settled and then send for me. We were going to get married once that happened." Jennifer's tears had spilled over and fell on the table. "How did you feel about that?" Castle asked taking out his handkerchief and handing it to her.

"I wanted to be where Brian was, wherever that was. I love my life now, but I" she took a long pause trying not to break down. "couldn't imagine my life without him so I agreed." She finished this last part looking down. "It wasn't about the money for him. He was content with whatever he had, all he really cared about was making people happy and helping people whenever he could. He talked about giving most of the money away to charity." She looked both of them in the eye saying this.

"What can you tell us about his Sister, Kathy Litton?" Kate asked Jennifer. "Not much really. Just that I met her about a month ago." "You've met her?" Castle asked somewhat surprised. "Yes, very briefly. She came with a lawyer to have Brian sign some paperwork to take over the company. We were in Cleveland at the time. Brian couldn't leave his job again so soon. He had just taken off the month before for his Father's funeral. He wanted me to go with him, but I couldn't. So anyway she came to Brian."

"Did they seem to get along?" Beckett asked searching her face. "I suppose, although they both seemed tense when I was introduced to her, on her way out. I asked Brian what happened and he just said difference of opinion on how to run things. He really didn't like to talk bad about people, Detective." "Let's get back to the day Brian died. What happened after lunch?" Kate said picking up her pen again. She had been writing notes but had stopped for awhile.

"Well we have free time after that until dinner time. Brian said he had some stuff to do, so we said we'd meet back up for dinner." Jennifer's face looked as if she were trying to remember every detail. "Did you have dinner there at the circus?" Castle replied. "Yes, along with everyone else." Kate was writing and looked up and asked, "what did Brian eat and drink?" "We both had the same thing, salad, chicken and a side of bow tie pasta." Jennifer recalled. "And to drink?" Kate didn't look up still writing. "I had water, Brian..." she stopped and Beckett looked up. "Brian brought a drink with him. It was a bottle of fruit punch I think, one of the kinds we have at the vending machines." She said starting to realize this must be how they think Brian was slipped this drug.

"This bottle, it is the kind that has a screw top lid? Like a water bottle?" Castle asked. "Yes!" she said looking horrified. "Do you think that is how Brian got the drug?" "It's possible." Kate said. Do you know what he did with the bottle after dinner?" Beckett's mind already mentally searching Brian's trailer. "I don't know, only that he had it when he walked me back to my place. He hadn't finished all of it yet." "Did he come inside?" Beckett asked still writing. "Yes for a few minutes. I showed him some pictures we had taken a few days earlier on my lap top. Then he left to get ready for the show." "Did he take that bottle with him?" Castle asked. "I assume so, because I know he didn't leave it in my trailer." Jennifer was just now starting to understand how horrible this all was.

There was a knock on the glass from the observation room. "Excuse us a moment, Ms. Finn." Beckett said scooting back from her chair. Jennifer just nodded.

Castle and Beckett walked into the observation room. "Your girl's in interro room 2!" Esposito said. "Great! I want you to have CSU go to Brian Parsons trailer and sweep it. Records, papers, computer files and especially anything to eat or drink. We are looking for a specific bottle of fruit punch, with a screw on lid. You two go with them and call me with an update. Wait a minute! Kate said changing her mind. "Call CSU but wait for me to finish with Jennifer Finn first. I think we are almost done with her for the moment. You can take her back with you." Kate said speaking to Esposito and Ryan. "Alright" They both said and walked out.

Kate turned to Castle and said, "Do you think she had anything to do with this Castle?" "I'd say no, my gut tells me no, but maybe she poisoned him for money?" "I had that thought too, but if she were going to marry him, what would be the point? Unless he was going to make her sign a prenup, but he doesn't strike me as the type. If he really were going to give most of it to charity, he would have no problem sharing with the woman he was going to marry!" "True!" Castle said looking at her thinking he would certainly share with her, if he was going to marry her! She knew what he was thinking and looked away quickly.

They walked back into where Jennifer Finn was. Her head was down on her folded arms resting on the table. She had been crying and looked up when she heard the door open. "We have just a few more questions, Jennifer, then Detectives Ryan and Esposito will take you back home. Do you remember them from the other day?" Kate said sympathetically. She nodded.

"Brian was found in the big tent, do you know of any reason why he'd be there so late?" Jennifer thought about this a second and shook her head. "I have no idea!" "Had Brian formally proposed to you?" Castle asked. "No, he said he'd surprise me!" she said smiling a little. "So that's why you aren't wearing an engagement ring?" Beckett asked. Jennifer lifted her left and and looked at it. "Yes. We knew we were going to get married but Brian wanted to propose to me the old fashioned way! He was a romantic too." Kate and Rick smiled at her.

"Did Brian ever ask you to sign a prenup Ms. Finn?" Beckett asked trying not to say it too coldly. "What? No we never even discussed that!" Jennifer said looking as if the thought never even had crossed her mind. "Ok that is all the questions I have for the time being. I may be contacting you more though soon. Please if you have any questions or think of anything, please call me, ok?" Kate said handing her a card.

Jennifer turned to walk out and said, "I do have one question. What will happen to his, uh, body now?" "Well it will be released to the next of kin by the Medical Examiner which would be his sister." Beckett said. "Oh, ok." She said with a dazed look. Kate walked her out and motioned for Ryan and Esposito to take her with them. They all three got into the elevator and the doors closed.

"That was so sad! Two young kids in love ready to start a life together and now it's all gone!" Castle said sadly. "Yeah, she doesn't even have the ring. Something she could at least remember their life by." Kate said walking into the break room. Castle followed. "Aren't you forgetting something Detective? Kathy Litton in room 2?" Castle questioned her. "No, I haven't forgotten Castle. I'm making her sweat a little bit. Give her time to wonder what is happening, why she has to wait so long." Kate said starting to prepare some coffee. "Want some?" "Sure!" Castle said getting out two cups.

"You think she had something to do with this don't you?" Castle said looking at Beckett. "Yes I think she is in this up to her neck!" Beckett said putting her hand on her hip. "Isn't she kind of an obvious choice?" Castle asked. "Sometimes the obvious choice is the right one, because it's obvious! Remember if our theory is correct the killer was supposed to use the untraceable drug!" Kate said looking him in the eye. "Yeah you are right. You are getting very professional with that machine! I remember the days of the spilled coffee grounds and the steam billowing up to fill the break room! Such fond memories!" Castle put his hand on his heart. "Oh shut up, Castle!" She said smiling.

The coffee was done and they sat and talked while drinking it. "Ok, I guess we'd better get in there and question her, Castle! Just follow my lead!" Kate said putting her cup in the sink. "As always, Detective, as always!"

Kate opened the interrogation room door and stared at Kathy Litton. She turned and looked at the both of them. She had been standing, walking around the room. "Have you found out more about my Brother?" Kathy quickly asked. "Yes, have a seat, Mrs. Litton." Kate said.

The three of them sat down and Kate said nothing. She was looking directly in Kathy's eyes, then she began, "I'm sorry to tell you Mrs. Litton but your Brother has been murdered!" "Murdered? How?" She asked. "Poisoning!" "Poisoning? There must be some mistake. Who would poison Brian?" Kathy Litton said this with not very much surprise although she tried hard to act surprised. "That's what we are here to find out. Can you think of anyone who would want to hurt your Brother?" "No, no one! I rarely saw him though!" She seemed more nervous then she had previously.

"When was the last time you saw your Brother?" Castle asked. She said, "At my Father's funeral. No, that's not true, it was in Cleveland a month ago. I had some papers for him to sign." "What were the papers for?" "They were transfer of power papers to have him start running the company. It was all very legal, I assure you!" She said trying to convince them. "Oh I'm sure it was and we will find out exactly what they said when the CSU team gets done with his place." Beckett said getting up from her chair, watching her expression. Beckett's phone began to buzz. She had it on vibrate while questioning Mrs. Litton. "Excuse us a moment Mrs. Litton!" She smiled slightly and they walked out of the room.

"Beckett!" Kate answered. "Yo Beckett, CSU found the fruit punch drink! It was sitting on a table and had about 1 inch left of the stuff in the bottle. We also found a packet of papers containing a transfer of power to Mertron Pharmaceuticals in it. Computer shows nothing of significance. Just emails to friends, random hits on charitable web sites, pictures of him and Jennifer and normal web browsing." Esposito said rapidly. He then added sadly"oh, and we found a diamond engagement ring!"

"Great! Tell CSU to rush the results and make sure to check for fingerprints also! If someone there poisoned him in that drink hopefully they will be able to pull the prints off the bottle if they left any!" Kate said referring to the employee files. Each employees file contained full fingerprints as part of their background checks. She noticed this in Brian Parsons file when she was going over it.

"Esposito bag the ring and bring it back here. There is no reason for CSU to process it. It's probably not evidence and Jennifer should have it. I don't want it going missing!" Kate said knowing that all his belongings would probably go to the next of kin. This was meant for Jennifer though, not Brian's Sister or anyone else. "Sure thing!" Esposito said. They both hung up at the same time.

"They found the bottle with an inch left of liquid in it. Hopefully that will be our murder weapon!" Kate said hopeful that they were getting somewhere now. "Did they find anything else of interest?" Castle asked as they were walking toward the interrogation room again. "Kathy Litton was telling the truth about the papers, but no. nothing else!"

Beckett's phone began to buzz again. "What now!" Kate answered her phone, "Beckett!" Kate said slightly annoyed that she couldn't finish the questioning right away. "Detective Beckett? Hi this is Jennifer, Jennifer Finn." "Yes hi Jennifer. Did my Detectives get you back ok?" Kate said trying to be polite. "Yes. I'm calling because I remembered something. It may be nothing and probably is, but I thought it might be." "Yes, go ahead Jennifer." Beckett's ears pricked up.

"Well I remember Brian telling me that one of the performers here named Joey had been wanting to hang around with him lately. Brian thought it was a little weird. They weren't friends and had never been friends. He said Joey would come to his trailer to hang out. Brian said it was awkward, that they didn't really have anything in common." Jennifer explained.

"How long had this been going on?" Kate asked. "About two weeks, but Brian mentioned at dinner he came by again that afternoon, the night he died." Jennifer sounded nervous. "It's probably nothing, maybe he just wanted to be friends with Brian, you know? "Maybe. Do you know Joey's last name? Kate asked looking at Castle. He had seen that look before. It was a look that said I think we may have just cracked this case.

"Yes, Joey's last name is Monticello." she said. "Anything else you can think of ?" "No, I've been wracking my brain but no that's all I can think of right now." "Ok thank you very much Jennifer and if you think of anything else please call me. It doesn't matter what time!" Beckett said sincerely. "Ok, you'll keep me updated though right?" Jennifer said worried. "Yes of course! I will let you know the minute I have more information!" Kate said with more softness in her voice. "Ok, thank you!" Jennifer said and hung up.

Castle looked at her and was about to say something. "Hold on Castle, I need to call Ryan." She said hitting a button on her cell. Ryan answered. "Ryan bring in Joey, or Joseph Monticello. He is an employee there, I need to talk to him. Pull his employee file too and give the fingerprints to CSU" Beckett said frazzled. This case was at a stand still before now it was full steam ahead.

She turned to Castle and explained everything Jennifer had told her. "So he was one of the last people to see Brian alive." Castle added. "Yes, I still suspect Brian's Sister may have been involved. We still don't have any evidence though." She said turning again to return to the interrogation room. Castle and Beckett walked through the door. Kathy Litton was sitting at the table. "Detective, I'm sorry but when can I go? As you can imagine I am very busy and have a meeting at 3:30." Kathy Litton said restlessly. "Is a meeting more important than your Brother's murder?" Castle asked shocked she was so cold. "Well no of course not, but business doesn't wait unfortunately!" She said trying to sound more sympathetic.

"Where were you two days ago between the hours of 2pm and 7pm, Mrs. Litton? Beckett said looking her directly in the eye. "I was at work of course. You can check with my secretary. What are you implying Detective?" Kathy said getting defensive. "Nothing Mrs. Litton. It's just standard questioning. You are free to go." Beckett said standing. "Thank you. Please let me know any information you get on my Brother." She said almost as an afterthought. "I will Mrs. Litton." Beckett said watching her walk out the door.

"You just let her go like that?" Castle asked surprised. "We don't have anything on her Castle, I had to. Besides she isn't going anywhere." Kate said walking back out to her desk. "Did you notice there was no outrage, no sense of justice for her Brother?" Castle said sitting down on the chair beside her desk. "Of course I noticed. Sometimes it's more about what they don't say then what they do say. "Mertron makes the poison that killed Brian though!" Castle said excitedly. "I know Castle but so do half a dozen other companies. It's not enough!" She reasoned. They sat with their own thoughts for a few minutes

"In just a few minutes we are going to have to go back in there and question Joey Monticello. I am going to have to feel him out a bit. He could just be a lonely guy looking for a friend or he could have killed Brian Parsons." Beckett said leaning back in her chair.

Castle scooted to the front of his chair and motioned for Kate to come closer. He whispered, "Can we go out on Saturday night?" He looked around like he was on a spy mission. Kate laughed. "Castle I know I said we had to be careful, but no one is close enough to hear us in a normal voice much less a whispered one. "Ok but I didn't want to make you mad at me!" Castle whispered this too. Kate found this endearing and said, "Yes I'll go out with you Saturday Rick, if we don't have to work!" "Hurray!" Castle said loudly. "Castle!" Kate frowned. "Sorry!" He said sheepishly.

The Captain had ordered pizza and brought out the left overs to Castle and Beckett. "I figured you two hadn't eaten yet!" "No we haven't Sir, thank you. I'm starving!" Kate said gratefully. "Thanks Roy!" Castle said grabbing a slice. "Where are we on this Circus case?" Montgomery said standing by Beckett. "It's coming along Sir!" she said taking a bite of Pizza. She filled him in on all the details. "It certainly sounds like the Sister has a hand in this!" Montgomery reasoned. "Keep me up to date!" he said walking away. "Yes Sir, and thank you again for the pizza!" Kate said a little louder so he could hear her.

"I miss you!" Castle said resting his hand in his head. "What do you mean you miss me? You've been with me all day!" Kate said smiling. "I miss being alone with you!" She looked at his blue eyes. They could always make her melt a little bit. "Castle you can't act like a love sick puppy around here, we have to keep it professional. She paused a minute and said, "but I miss being alone with you too!" She did not look at him when she said this. 'Score one for team Castle' he thought. "I see you are conflicted in your feelings young Jedi!" Castle said. "Will you stop that?" she laughed. Castle got a little more serious and said. "Want to go have a drink at the Old Haunt tonight if we don't finish too late? I promise no touching while we are in there!" "We aren't going to finish this case early Castle!" "But if we do?" "Ok, sure why not!" She said brightly.

Eposito and Ryan walked up. "Joey Monticello is in room 1 Beckett!" Ryan said walking toward them. "CSU said they'll run the tests right away and call you later with results!" Esposito pulled out a small brown bag and handed it to Beckett. She opened it. Inside was the ring in a small box. She pulled out the ring. They were all looking at it. "Wow this is beautiful! It must be two carats!" It was a square cut diamond with small diamonds on the side. Platinum and it looked expensive. "Esposito not a word to anyone about this. This isn't exactly standard operating procedure!" Kate said looking at all of them. "Ring, what ring?" He smiled a little and went back to his desk. Ryan followed.

"Ready Castle?" Beckett said. "Yup!" Castle led the way and opened the door to room 1. "Hello Mr. Monticello I'm Detective Kate Beckett and this is Richard Castle." Joey stood up and held out his hand for her to shake. "Hello" he said staring at her and looking directly in her eyes. He was looking at her slightly seductively. Castle of course noticed this right away. "I sure you know why you are here?" Beckett asked. "Yes, it's about Brian right?" He said trying to charm her. Kate knew exactly what he was doing. This happened sometimes. Men who are suspects thought they could get away with a lot. If they could get her to think she was the only woman in the world she might be inclined to go easier on them. It never worked. They thought they could out smart a woman Detective or at least charm her.

"Yes, when was the last time you saw him?" "Uhmm, I think about three days ago or so" He said just a little too quickly. "So a day before he died?" Beckett said giving him a chance to tell the truth. "Yeah, or maybe even the day before that. I really can't remember." He said acting very calm. "It's a shame, he was a nice guy." This was forced sadness. Castle decided to let Kate handle this one. He knew she had a way of getting what she wanted from guys like this. 'He's lying' Kate said to herself.

"Joey we know you saw Brian the day he died. Would you like to tell us about that?" She said a little more sternly. "The day he died? It could have been I suppose. It's hard to remember really." He didn't seem concerned at all how this questioning was going. Beckett studied him quickly in her mind. Very good looking about 30, physically fit, charming and creepy.

"We have a witness that puts you in his trailer the afternoon of the night he died." Now Beckett was lying. She only had Jennifer's hearsay that Brian saw him there. "If you say so Detective!" Joey said putting his hands up. Castle hated guys like this, they weren't actually charming, just fake. "What were you doing there?" "Just hanging out, you know shooting the breeze." He said with a smile. "Had you two been friends long?" Kate got up and walked around a little. "No, not long." Joey said watching her, looking her up and down.

"Why did you become friendly with him all of the sudden?" Beckett stopped walking and looked at him directly when she said this. "He was a nice guy, is it against the law to become friends with someone?" He said starting to get a bit of an attitude. This is exactly what Kate wanted. To break down that fake exterior and get to the real person. "No, no of course not it's just a little suspicious don't you think? I mean two weeks before Brian dies you want to become buddy buddy with him?" Beckett said resting her hands on the table and looking at him.

"Well I didn't know he was going to die in two weeks when I first talked to him!" Again saying it with attitude. "Yes, your right of course, you didn't know!" Beckett decided to change tactics. Joey smirked at little bit, thinking he had the upper hand back.

A knock on the window. "We'll be back!" Beckett gave him a little smile. They closed the door and Castle said, "He creeps me out!" "You aren't the only one!" Beckett said as they walked into the room behind the interrogation room where Joey was.

"What do you got?" Beckett said to Ryan and Esposito. "CSU report came back!" Esposito said with a smile. "So quickly?" Kate asked surprised. "And?" she added. "The fruit punch was a match. There was traces of poison just like we thought!" Esposito said. "That's not all! There was a partial print on the bottle and guess whose it was?" Ryan said holding a folder. "Joey Monticello!" Castle spoke up. "Yup!" Esposito smiled and looked into the room through the glass. "Get a search warrant for Joey's room and go search it!" Beckett said. The two detectives jumped up and went into the bull pen.

Beckett got a far away look in her eyes. "Why? What's the motive? Jennifer would have told us if he was jealous of Brian in some way. If he wanted his girlfriend or something. She said he was trying to be his friend so that really doesn't make sense!" "What if Joey met Kathy when she went to see Brian?" Castle said with a pondering look. "She ran into him, he was charming and she was charmed. They got together for a drink and talked about their work. She got a little tipsy and revealed more than she should. She talked about her Brother and how it should have been her taking over the company not him. Suppose Joey said he could take care of that? For a price? She decided it would be worth it and came up with the poison idea. After all she has access to all kinds of drugs! So they exchange numbers and come up with a plan." Beckett looked at him and looked back at Joey who was sitting at the table hands folded, looking around the room.

"Let's go!" Kate reached for the door knob. They walked back into the interrogation room and Beckett pulled out her chair and gave Joey an intense look before saying. "Why did you do it Joey?" "Do what?" "Kill Brian!" "You think I killed Brian?" "I know you did! We have your fingerprints on the bottle with the poison Brian drank!" Beckett's eyes were blazing. "He was poisoned?" "Don't play dumb with me Joey, you already knew that because you are the one who poisoned him!" Beckett was as close to him as the table would allow. Joey just looked away and said nothing. "Where did you get the poison Joey? We know you had help!"

"That bitch! She said it would be untraceable! That no one would find out!" "Who?" Beckett got up from her seat. "Who do you think? Brian's sister! Kathy!" Joey still said this with attitude. "Tell us what happened!" Castle spoke for the first time. "She came to see Brian in Cleveland. I ran into her, I mean literally ran into her. I asked her if she was ok. She said yes. I could tell she was into me, so I flirted with her a little and asked her out for a drink. I noticed she was wearing a wedding ring, but thought she is out of town maybe she wants a little break from married life. She said yes." Joey explained. Castle looked at Kate with a look that said 'am I good or what?'

"We went to a restaurant bar and had a few drinks and she started talking. She told me about her Father and said he never respected her and was old fashioned, that he wanted Brian, his precious boy to run the company. She talked and talked. I could tell she hated her Brother. She chided him for running away to the Circus and thought he was a loser. I played the empathetic caring guy that night. At first all I could think of was how to get her in bed, but then I saw it as an opportunity to make some serious cash. I knew she was rich from the way she talked about her life and the company. So I said, why not let me handle it?

At first she protested, but she gradually warmed up to the idea. She agreed to give me two million in cash, when the job was done. I agreed and we worked on a plan . She some how got the drug and sent it to me FedEx. She said it was untraceable and that no one would find out. Brian's death would be inconclusive. It was so easy, Brian had just come back from the vending machine when I had come to see him. He drank some of the punch and while he was in the bathroom I put it in the bottle and shook it up." Joey said almost proud of himself, "then he drank some!"

"Stand up! Put your hands behind your back!" Beckett said with disgust. "Joey Monticello you are under arrest for the murder of Brian Parsons! She took out her cuffs and slapped them on him and read him his rights. She had a uniform take him to booking. "Let's go get Kathy Litton!" Beckett said to Castle. She called Esposito and told him the whole story and asked him to make sure to gather evidence carefully. He agreed and hung up.

"Of all the arrogant, slimy people I've come across he takes the cake!" Beckett said. "Yeah what a filthy pig he is!" Castle said as they got in the car. They drove to Kathy Litton's office but it took awhile because it was rush hour. Castle looked over at Kate. He could tell she just couldn't wait to get there and arrest her. "Hey!" Castle said, getting her attention. She turned her head and looked at him. "We'll get her you know!" She smiled at him and said "I know!" "How can someone be so cold to murder their own Brother? She had all the money she needed and Brian would have given her the company probably eventually, why did she do it? Jealousy?" "I don't know Castle. It feels like there is something more than just that, although I've been on plenty of cases where jealousy is the prime motivation." She said this looking at him and back to the road.

They finally arrived at Mertron and went up the elevator. Beckett had gotten her handcuffs returned before they left and she couldn't wait to get them on Kathy's pretty little wrists. They arrived on the 11th floor and went through the double doors. "We need to see Kathy Litton please!" Beckett told the receptionist. "I'm sorry but she's in a meeting at the moment." "Where? Down this hall?" Beckett was already walking in the direction of the conference room they had talked to her previously in. "Ma'am you can't go in there!" The receptionist said walking after Beckett and Castle. Beckett opened the door and walked into the conference room. Kathy Litton was sitting at the far end of the table along with mostly other men.

Beckett already had her cuffs out and walked up to where she was and said, "Kathy Litton you are under arrest for the murder of your Brother, Brian Parsons." Kate didn't have to say the 'your Brother' part but she wanted everyone in that room to know how scummy she really was. The whole room was silent as she walked Kathy out of the room. Castle waved a little bit and shut the door.

They walked past the receptionist, and out of the office. They got back to the 12th and led her into the interrogation room. Beckett took the cuffs off and they all sat down. "So tell us what happened Mrs. Litton!" Beckett said. "I would like to speak with my lawyer!" She said not looking at them. Beckett wanted a confession but knew she may not get one. "We know Joey slipped Brian the drug. We have his full confession!" Beckett said with her hands folded in front of her, being calm."So what was it Kathy? You couldn't stand that your Brother was getting more than you? Or was it because your Father loved Brian more than you?" Castle said this intending to get her riled up.

She looked directly at Castle her eyes showing her anger. "You think this is about jealousy? Yes Brian was inheriting more than me! Do you think a few million dollars would make me kill him? I have more than enough money! I knew Brian was going to eventually sign the company over to me, but not before making huge changes to the company. He was always a do-gooder! He was going to give most of his money to his precious charities. Fine! He could do whatever he wanted with his money! I didn't care!

When he started talking about making the company 'green' that's when I drew the line! Do you know how much that would have cost Mertron? Millions upon millions of dollars! That could have run us into bankruptcy! Not to mention his stance on fair labor laws and all of that stuff. I want Mertron to succeed for my girls, something to leave them. I wanted them or at least one of them to run the company some day! It wasn't fair of Brian to possibly take that away from them!" She was calmer now but realize she just confessed out of anger.

"So you got Joey involved and hatched a plan to kill your Brother." Beckett said still calm. "Yes, Joey was an easy target. Charming, arrogant and money hungry! He thought he talked me into our plan, but really it was the other way around. I knew I could get what I wanted from him. Two million was nothing compared to what I could lose!" She said as if she wasn't going to spend the rest of her life in jail.

"How did you get the poison?" Castle asked. "I simply asked for it! I am the Vice President of Mertron after all." Kathy said with authority. "Well you asked for the wrong thing, Mrs. Litton! You asked for a drug that was traceable, similar to the untraceable one. You see the names are very similar!" Beckett informed her.

"Yes of course I realize this now, otherwise I wouldn't be sitting here would I?" Kathy said with a smirk. "I think I've had about enough of you I can take for today!" Beckett said rising. Kate could not stand this woman. She walked out the door and summoned a uniform that was in the hall. "Please take her to booking! Her name is Kathy Litton, they'll have her information down there!" The officer came into the room and put the cuffs back on her and led her away.

"Good work in there Castle!" Kate said smiling at him. "I knew I had to say something that hit a nerve to get her to confess, so I came up with the Father thing!" "Well it was a good instinct, because without it she would have never reveled anything!" Kate said sitting at her desk. She pulled out the bag from a locked drawer in her desk. "At least Jennifer will have something to remember Brian by" she said looking at the ring in the small box. "Come on let's go give it to her." Kate said a little sadly.

Ryan had called before they left and said they had found an empty FedEx envelope with a empty vile with traces of white powder in it in Joey's trailer. They also found travel brochures and an empty passport. Beckett filled him in on everything and told them they were on their way to talk to Jennifer.

"It's still early Kate! We wrapped up this case pretty quickly!" Castle said with eagerness in his voice. "Ok, Castle you win! I do have about an hours worth of paperwork when we get back though!" Kate she warned him. "Ok, I know!" He said accepting that.

They saw Jennifer and told her the whole story. She was shocked and upset that anyone, much less his own Sister could kill him. "I think I may know why Brian was in the big tent when he died." Jennifer said through her tears. "Why?" Castle and Beckett said this at the same time. "I think he may have been trying to get to the Dr. we keep on staff. It would have been a short cut. He probably was feeling sick, never got out of costume and decided to go there." "That's probably true." Beckett said. "Jennifer I have something for you that we found in Brian's trailer." Kate took out the bag and then took the small box out of the bag and handed it to Jennifer almost reluctantly. She knew the pain it would cause but knew it would be a comfort too later.

Jennifer opened it and started to sob. "I'm sorry!" was all she could get out. Kate went up to her and hugged her. Rick was surprised at this gesture. He had never seen her do this with any other victim before. Jennifer was able to compose herself a little bit. "I'm so sorry!" she said wiping her tears away. "No need to be sorry! You've suffered a great loss!" Kate said leading her over to sit down. "It's just beautiful, exactly what I wanted. Brian knew!" "It's gorgeous!" Castle said trying to make her feel a little better. "What will you do now Jennifer?" "I don't know, maybe take a little time off. Maybe come back. It won't be the same without Brian!"

"Jennifer here is a card for a victims of crime survivors group. They have meetings you can attend for free. I realize you may not be in the area for much longer but if you go to their web site, it will show you meetings for the entire United States. It may help!" Kate said handing her the card. "Than you." She said taking the card. They said their good-byes and Castle and Beckett left and headed back to the station. After an hour and a half of paperwork, they called it a night.

Castle walked Kate to her car and they left separately and headed to the Old Haunt. They both arrived at the same time and parked. Kate got out of her car and walked to Rick. She hugged him tight. "I don't know what I would do if anything happened to you Rick! You never know what may happen to someone." "I'm not going anywhere, Kate!" Castle hugged her and kissed her cheek. They walked into the Old Haunt not holding hands or touching in any way.

Inside they sat at a dark booth and ordered burgers and a couple of beers. While they waited Rick took Kate's hand under the table and caressed it. Even the slightest touch from him made her weak. She never wanted what she was feeling for him to end. It wasn't just the physical attraction. It was everything. Their friendship, their partnership, and being in sync mentally and emotionally.

'I want to spend the rest of my life with him' she thought. 'How can I though? We just started dating! Maybe I am just caught up in the moment right now.' Seeing Jennifer so devastated over Brian's death could have influenced her feelings. She knew that wasn't true though. She knew! Yes she knew! People always said you'd know, and now she did. It was the inexplicable feeling of just knowing. It was instinctual. 'Oh my God, what am I going to do?' She thought in a panic. 'Calm down Kate!' she reasoned with herself, 'you have time, just go with it and see what happens.' She looked at Rick and smiled. "What?" he said returning her smile. "Nothing!" she said still smiling and looking down. This was just perfect for the moment.